When you’re developing a marketing plan for your e-commerce business, social media marketing is an important part of any strategy, and most business owners should be using Facebook and Twitter to engage current customers and attract new ones. Still, Facebook and Twitter aren’t the only social media sites out there.

Pinterest is a thriving social media site used by millions of people and has proven to be a profitable way to advertise online stores. The website allows people to “pin” items to boards to come back and look at later. For example, my sister is getting married, and she has a board that she saves wedding ideas to. Other people can follow boards to view the pins and then re-pin them to their own boards.

Here are some important things that every e-commerce business should know about Pinterest:

1. Pinterest is widely used by women. The majority of people using Pinterest are women, specifically women between the ages of 25 and 50. Any online business that caters to this demographic can do well advertising their e-commerce stores on the platform. Some types of stores that cater to men may also do well on Pinterest. Hair care, beard care grooming products and fashion are examples. Men’s gifts also do well on the site because women can see them and purchase them for their husbands and boyfriends.

2. Pinterest is perfect for promoting products. The pin format lends itself nicely to showcasing products. Nearly all types of products can fit into the categories for boards on Pinterest.

3. DIY products do especially well on Pinterest. Many people come to Pinterest looking for ideas for projects that they can do themselves. If you sell something that can be used for do-it-yourself projects like arts, crafts, cooking, home beauty treatments, sewing, home decorating or home improvements, Pinterest will be very (more…)

Search engine optimization or SEO is vital to the success of any online business. Why? Well, without a well optimized website you won’t be able to get free traffic directed to your site from search engines like Google and Bing. When your site is properly optimized, you have a better chance of appearing high up on the list of results that are displayed when people search for keywords that are related to the products that you carry. This guide will tell you the things that you need to know to make sure that your site is well optimized.

What Is SEO?

How did SEO get started? The story begins with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google. They made an algorithm that could figure out which websites were the most relevant for any term. Search engine optimization or SEO means using techniques that increase the chances of Google’s algorithm placing a priority on your site above others for specific keyword search terms.  SEO involves the following:

– On-Page SEO. On-page SEO refers to the actual text, images and other content on your website. For example, my website uses the words dance clothing frequently, so Google would recognize that fact and show my site when people search for dance clothing. The on-page SEO is the easiest for you as a store owner for you to control.

– Off-Page SEO. Off-page SEO is also sometimes called link building. Google can track how many other websites refer traffic to websites. Ones with more links are thought by Google to be more popular or better quality, giving them a priority over other sites.

On-Page SEO Basics

A successful on-page SEO strategy must include:

– Meta Title and Meta Description. The meta title is the name that appears at the top of a product page, and the meta description is the (more…)

An e commerce store can give you a continuous source of side income to help you save for special purchases or to use in case of emergency and can even grow to become your primary source of income over time.

If being your own boss and working full-time at your own business is your ultimate goal, it’s important that you get your e commerce store off to the best possible start. That’s why you need to do some careful work long before you even begin to build your site. You need to start off by deciding just what you plan to sell, what you’ll call your online store and how you’ll create a brand. This guide will teach you how to do just that step by step.

Step 1: Narrow Your Niche

A successful e commerce store needs to have a distinct focus, which is also sometimes referred to as a niche. You can’t expect to be all things to all people and to sell something for everyone like Amazon.com or Walmart.com. As a small business, you need to have a clear area of specialty that is obvious to your customers. The most successful entrepreneurs select a very specific target market to cater to with their online stores and then gradually expand it.

Take me for a sample. I sell dance clothing, something that I myself would never purchase. My site only features dance apparel. You won’t find workout clothing or yoga clothing or athletic gear in my inventory. Instead, dancers, dance moms and dance teachers can find everything that they need for their needs at my website.

Spend a little time thinking about the kind of niche you’d like to sell to. You may want to choose one that’s related to your interests and experience, but I’m proof that it’s not necessary to do so (more…)

E-commerce stores can be incredibly profitable online businesses, but they don’t make money all by themselves. To succeed with an online store, you need to manage the business well and market it wisely. I know from experience how many well intentioned decisions can have disastrous results. When I first got into e-commerce I had to learn as I went and make a number of mistakes as a result. The good news is that you can learn from my mistakes and avoid making them entirely.

Before you do anything to get your e commerce store running, you need to decide which platform you’re going to host it on. There are many of them out there, but Shopify is the one that I recommend the most. While the platform has a number of advantages, the biggest reason to opt for Shopify over the competition is that it is really simple to use. You won’t end up wasting time trying to master the platform, so you can focus on your business.

Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to reveal the biggest mistake that you need to avoid making if you want your store to work well. What is it?

Not making a store that converts!

I talk to people who are getting ready to launch e-commerce stores all the time who want to know how they can make their site look cool or how to add fancy features. Right away, I stop them and ask “how is this going to help you get sales?”

In the end, it doesn’t matter how pretty or fancy your site is if no one buys. The most important thing for you to think about when you’re creating your store is “What can I do to get people who come to this website to buy?”

To get started designing a (more…)